Dow bounces off lows, but remains in the red after Fed meeting minutes release

U.S. stocks bounced off their lows, but still traded in negative territory as investors processed the latest developments with the Federal Reserve and geopolitical risk.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 180 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 eased 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%.

ViacomCBS was the biggest loser in the S&P 500 on Wednesday, with shares falling more than 19% after the company said it is rebranding itself as Paramount Global to focus on streaming. The company also reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Facebook parent Meta Platforms shares fell more than 3% after the tech giant reportedly rolled out a new set of corporate values in its latest attempt to manage its demoralized employees.

Wall Street digested the minutes from the Fed's January meeting released Wednesday afternoon.

The minutes showed the Fed was ready to raise interest rates and shrink its balance sheet soon as inflation runs hot.

Participants "continued to judge that the Committee's net asset purchases should be concluded soon" and "anticipated that it would soon be appropriate to raise the target range," the minutes said.

The notes also said "participants observed that, in light of the current high level of the Federal Reserve's securities holdings, a significant reduction in the size of the balance sheet would likely be appropriate."

Markets in the past week have been driven largely by concerns over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"Geopolitical risk is something that's very, very hard to trade and it's something that we like to not overplay, so ... you kind of have to wait out," Delano Saporu, CEO of New Street Advisors Group, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."

In the most recent geopolitical developments, NATO officials on Wednesday accused Russia of massing troops at the Ukrainian border.

U.S. and Russian aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea flew close to each other over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Energy prices, which have been sensitive to the news, moved sharply higher Wednesday, with natural gas up more than 6% and oil prices climbing more than 2%.

The Cboe Volatility Index — known as Wall Street's "fear gauge" — sat at around the 25 level.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon addressed the latest developments between Russia and Ukraine, reiterating that the U.S. will defend NATO territory.

"If Russia proceeds, we will rally the world," Biden said, adding that Washington's allies were ready to impose powerful sanctions that will "undermine Russia's ability to compete economically and strategically."

The comments came after the Russian government said earlier on Tuesday that some troops who had been on the Ukrainian border had returned to their bases.

This helped boost sentiment on Wall Street, with the major averages snapping a three-day losing streak Tuesday.

On the data front, retail sales surged 3.8% in January, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday. Economists expected the report to show sales rose 2.1% in January after a 1.9% decline in December.